One Healthy Checkout Lane Leads to 10



Success for Northgate Gonzalez markets in Southern California all comes down to its healthy marketing tactics. Since their Viva la Salud, they have been working in their stores to create healthy marketing and a comprehensive wellness program to entice shoppers to choose fresh fruits and vegetables and healthier products. Back in 2016,  LA parents saw that more needed to be done in all grocery stores around California, where checkout lanes tempted parents and kids alike with unhealthy foods like sodas, chips, and candies. Parents worked with groups including Choose Health LA Kids, Los Angeles County Department of Health, First 5 LA, the Interagency Retail Alliance (IRA) which includes Choose Health LA Kids-Choose Health LA Kids—The Children’s Clinic, AltaMed, Public Health ...

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Improving Healthier Food Prices Increases Healthy Food Supply & Demand


access to healthy food store

A new study looking at 24 corner stores in disadvantaged neighborhoods and two wholesale stores in Baltimore City, Maryland were tested on the impact of how store-directed price discounts and communications strategies impact healthy food supply and demand. The study, published in Public Health Nutrition reported that stores that used healthy marketing and discounts on healthy foods did, in fact, impact the supply and demand of healthier foods in stores. The stores were randomized into categories including pricing interventions, communication interventions, combined pricing and communications interventions, and a control store. During the 6 month trail, communication stores promoted healthy items with signage, taste tests, and refrigerators. The pricing intervention stores were ...

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Study Shows Mexico Soda Tax Decreases Consumption



Two years after Mexico implemented a soda tax, sugary drink consumption has decreased shows a new study. According to the researchers at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, the taxes are decreasing soda purchases as much as 5% in the first year of the tax and 4% in the second year. Sugary beverages are a danger for Latino kids in America, where studies show 74% of Latinos have had a sugary drink by age 2 and Latino kids ages 0-5 years old consume more sugary drinks than the overall average. Experts warn that sugary drinks bring increased risks for children and teens, who often face higher risks for unhealthy weights, heart disease, high blood ...

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Support for Santa Fe Soda Tax Still Standing Strong



Support is still growing strong for Santa Fe's city soda tax, where last week Mayor Javier Gonzales spoke about the benefits for pre-K funding the tax could bring in for the city. The sugary drink tax is estimated to bring in around $7 million dollars to help fund pre-kindergarten education. This week, the city committee meeting on Monday cleared the tax as the committee voted 3 to 1 to recommend approval. According to local Santa Fe New Mexican, nearly two dozen speakers urged the councilors to support the soda tax initiative and put it before voters for the special election in May, including Moms like Meredy Talbot-Zorn who told councilors while holding her young daughter that many kids who are poor are one average 18 months behind their peers in education. Chamber of ...

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CSPI Calls Out Chili’s For Soda on Kids’ Menus



The Center for Science in the Public Interest is asking for your help to ensure Chili's removes soda from kids' menus. Latino kids, who are often more marketed sodas than their white peers consume more sugary drinks than their white peers, where 74% of Latinos have had a sugary drink by age two. Research also shows that Latino high-school students have about three or more sugary drinks a day, and with each extra sugary drink the risk of becoming an obese adult jumps to 60%! Many restaurants have already taken the healthy step to remove sodas from kids' menus, including Burger King, Wendy's, Dairy Queen, Jack in the Box, Applebee's and McDonald's! However, Chili's Grill & Bars continue to have soda on their kids' menus. One in every three children in our communities is ...

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Midland Hospital Encourages Plant Based Diets for Health



A city that is planning to be the healthiest city in Texas is looking to change they way they look at food to make heart disease and diabetes a thing of the past. In Midland, Texas (17.6 % Latino) Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH) is one of only two hospitals in the country to be part of a special partnership with the creator of Plant Pure Nation, a documentary about the health benefits of being on a pure plant based diet. The hospital has seen dramatic results in its patients who are going on this diet in regards to their health, where many patients have deterred their need for surgery or medications, just by changing their diets. Dr. Gurru, a local physician at the hospital for over 15 years explained to local CBS 7 news, why the hospital is promoting this type of ...

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Latino CrossFit Enthusiast and Photographer Portrays Sugar As It Is In Common Foods



Many foods are marketed as "healthy" to consumers, but what about the amount of sugar that is in each product? Antonio R. Estrada, a photographer, CrossFit enthusiast and sports nutritionist is aiming to show consumers products marketed as healthy, in their true light, portraying the amount of sugar contained in many products that people consume on a daily basis. Estrada explains that his idea is simple, to show consumers the amounts of sugar in products in the same way that industries show their products, with great lighting, packaging and visual effects. By putting the amount of sugar next to each product, consumers visualize the amount of sugar in an easy to see format. He hopes that through this artistic way of portraying these products, consumers will share his photos (with ...

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Intern Creates Healthier Vending & Wellness for Shelby Township



In the township of Shelby, Michigan, a local intern helped to create a way to encourage health among employees through healthier vending. In the summer of 2016, township's Wellness Committee worked with Shelby Township Supervisor's office intern Kayla Gahlau, to create healthier vending and help increase funds for the employee wellness program. “We initially created this project because we believed that the healthy vending project would be another way to improve the overall quality of life in Shelby Township,” Gahlau told The Source. After proposing the idea of the healthier food options for the employee vending to Deputy Supervisor Brad Bates, they agreed that the project could not only help employees overall wellness but also help Gahlau develop in her health ...

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Vending Machines Must Show Calories Now!



Do the vending machines in your workplace, school, or city have calorie labels posted on food items? If not, they should, as the law passed by congress in March 2010 has now been in effect for over 5 million vending machines across the nation since December 1, 2016. Vending machines that are owned or operated by vendors with 20 or more machines should now officially offer consumers information to make the healthier choice the easier choice with calories labeled for each food and beverage item. A fact sheet on vending labeling developed by The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association has detailed information about the requirements of the law. The fact ...

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